Messages - tame

The Dean's ceritification is part of the application that many schools require. It basically tells law schools that you are in in good standing academically and have no academic misconduct (eg. cheating, plagiarism) on your undergraduate file. I didn't know whether there would be a any problems getting one if I've been suspended for academic reasons.

I'm hoping an upward trend in grades, a high LSAT, work experience and addenda will downplay the poor judgement when i was young and immature about school. Eek.

It will. I was in the exact same situation this time last year and I was a basket case. I was put on probation for academic reasons and then suspended during undergrad (my senior year, no less), and I was convinced that I was going to get blackballed everywhere. I got into my first-choice school though, along with a lot of the others I applied to. It definitely won't keep you from getting a dean's cert, although the dean will mention that you were on probation/suspended -- I found it helpful to meet with the person writing the cert beforehand to make sure they understood the circumstances of my suspension. Don't know if that made any difference or not, since I never actually saw the cert, but it made me feel better.

Other advice: in your addendum, keep it concise and matter of fact, don't whine or make excuses, and make it clear that what happened is wholly in the past. On your resume, highlight stuff like work experience and promotions that will show how mature and functional you now are. And I completely agree with leftyguns: getting a kickass LSAT is absolutely the best thing you can do for yourself. Study like crazy. Seriously. A really good LSAT can make the adcomms forget about almost everything else.

The answer to my reconsideration request just came back -- still nothing. I'm 171/3.8, which doesn't seem that far off from people who recieved some sort of money. I recieved about $10,000/year from Stanford, $20,000 total from Columbia, and about $7,000/year from Boalt. I really, really feel comfortable at NYU though, and do plan on going into public service. Is it ridiculous for me just to go for it and prepare to take out $180,000 in loans??? They do have a good LRAP program, although I feel as if I never really understand all the details...

Yup, I'm in pretty much the same situation, and I'm going to suck it up and go to NYU. I don't fully understand the LRAP program either, but I know it's supposed to be one of the best. I'm actually hoping that taking out all this debt will keep me from going the route that a lot of people who go to law school planning on going into public service/public interest eventually do - taking a biglaw job because it's so much easier to get one. Because I know if I take the high-paying job to pay off the massive loans myself, I'll be stuck doing it for at least 4 or so years, if not more, and will probably be miserable. I'd much rather take a low-paying job that I enjoy more and do that for the 10 years it takes to have my loans paid off in full. Knowing that, I hope, will give me more motivation to not to fall into biglaw just because it's the path of least resistance.

I haven't heard from them yet either - it seems like a lot of people have though. I called their financial aid office yesterday to see if they were missing anything from me, and she promised to call back today to let me know the status, but so far no call. Oh well. I'm going to NYU anyway.

My input, having lived in a few places in Brooklyn over the years:Carroll Gardens: Really nice. When I lived there, you could find cheapish places a little further from the subway, and you could probable still find some good deals there or in Cobble Hill (which is right next to it) if you were willing to have roommates.Park Slope: Some parts are really expensive. Other parts not so much. It's really worth looking around there though - I had a friend who found a top-floor apartment in a brownstone half a block from Prospect Park for dirt cheap, so you never know.Kensington: Sooo cheap. But really far...from everything. Not a lot in the way of restaurants, shopping, etc. I wouldn't suggest it for NYU, and especially not for Columbia - you'd be looking at at least 2 hours on the subway every day.

Personally, in Brooklyn, I think I'd go for Williamsburg - the L train can be a little slow, especially on weekends, but it's a really good line to live on because it hooks up with ALL the other lines once you get into Manhattan, which makes things a lot easier.

Oh, and Gowanus? NO!! Empty warehouses and hookers everywhere. Seriously, I've taken cabs through there and it's beyond seedy. It's weird, because it's between two nice neighborhoods, but stay away.

crap, i just looked at the email again and realized that those classes are on wednesday, not thursday. maybe i'll have to ditch work on wednesday after all! i really, really want to sit in on some classes to get a feel for what it's like. my boss will be unhappy, but what else is new, really?

Hey everyone, I'm up here visiting CLS right now! It's my first time in NYC! I'm here early, but will be at the Admit Days on Wed-Thurs. Anyone else going? I'm excited now that I'm here - Columbia is beautiful and NYC rocks. Also met the big public interest dean at dinner tonight and who will be speaking at the public interest panel on thursday - she was so kind and this visit has definitely drummed up my Columbia interest so far.

I'll be at the admit day on Thursday - probably won't be at the reception Wed. night though because I have to work. I'm excited! Mobell (and anyone else going this Thurs.), do you know what classes you're planning to sit in on yet? I just got an email today with a list of them and there are so many, I don't even know where to start...

ooh, it's coming by email? good to know. i've been looking for it in my mailbox all week - basically just waiting for them to confirm that they're giving me nothing, like everyone else. sigh. i also wish i were rich.

Ok, aside from my unplanned trips to Harlem on the express train, I once asked a cab driver to take me through it on a lark.. while it wasn't as freakish as I had expected, it would still take a lot of getting used to for you personally, and I'm not sure if your friends will ever want to visit you if you lived there. Anyway. From what I remember, the neighborhoods were just really old and not particularly presentable, with a lot of really old buildings, residential and retail alike, that were abandoned with boards over the windows. The driver said a lot of these establishments had fallen victim to fires and were never restored afterward. Aside from the buildings, the streets were awfully crowded, people just "hanging out" in the middle of the road, or slouched by the lamp posts, which I'm sure -if you moved there- would make it awfully difficult for you to walk home by yourself (or even with friends) without being heckled. I saw a few cars just parked by the roads with the windows completely blown out.

I mean.. not as horrifying as I had thought it would be.. but at the same time enough to make you uncomfortable if that's what you came home to, night after night, unless you grew up with something like that and it doesn't faze you!

Quote

Right, this is definitely true of certain parts of Harlem, but I'm just going to point out again that it's not like that at 119th and Amsterdam.

I also went to Columbia undergrad, so I'm going to agree with the others who've said 119th and Amsterdam isn't a bad place to live. I think some of the CLS dorms are around there, and there's an undergrad dorm at 117th or 118th and Amsterdam. Yes, parts of Harlem can be a little scary, but that's further uptown - 119th and Amsterdam is still Columbia territory/Morningside Heights. I will say though that Amsterdam can get a little more deserted late at night than Broadway (one block over, on the other side of the Columbia campus). Also, all of the 1/9 stops are on Broadway, and since you're commuting, less of a walk to the subway could be nice. Ultimately you really do need to just check it out for yourself though - there are good deals to be had in that neighborhood, but if you don't feel comfortable it's not worth it. And Brooklyn is nice too.